Of Mice and Men Wiki
Welcome to the Of Mice and Men Wiki The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck illuminates the dream of the 20th century. It idealizes the meaning of friendships and captivates the being of loneliness within all the characters. The editors of this wikia are the english 12 students of Ms. Ignacio's block D class from St. Patrick's Regional Secondary. Plot Summary The story is about two workers, George, the small but intelligent man and Lennie, the larger but childlike man. They are on their way to their next job in California but arrive by a nearby ranch. They hope to fulfill their American dream of owning land together and making their own farm. At the ranch, they lie about being cousins, and that a horse kicked Lennie in the head when he was child, resulting to his behavior right now. They get hired at the ranch and meet Candy who introduces them to the boss and to the boss's son Curly. They also meet Curly's wife who wears heavy make-up and possess a flirtacious attitude. George suggests to Lennie to meet up by the pool if any unfortunate things happen. While working on the ranch, George and Lennie continue to dream about owning their own piece of land together. Old Candy, one of the ranch hands, overhears their planning and asks to join them. He even offers to contribute all of his savings to purchase the land. George and Lennie accept his proposal. One evening, Lennie is left behind while george goes out into town. Lennie becomes upset about his dead puppy which he accidentally killed while petting it. Curly's wife, being the flirt that she is, comes into the barn to comfort Lennie. After knowing about his love for touching soft things, she asks him to stroke her hair. She panics as she feels Lennie's hands becoming tighter. He freaks out and ends up snapping her neck causing her to die. Lennie runs off to the meeting place that George previously told him to go if something bad happens. When George returns with the other workers, they find Curly's wife dead and George instantly goes out to find Lennie. George meets Lennie at the meeting place. The sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder, so George shoots his bestfriend at the back of his head to prevent from any brutal assaults of the ranch hands. The men arrived confused but George tells them that Lennie had the gun and he had to wrestle for it and shot him. Only slim understands the reason for George's act. The story ties into the poem 'To a Mouse' through its view of dreams of the future and living in the present. Like the farmer in the poem, George and Lennie share an ‘American Dream’; being able to provide for themselves and leaving time for relaxation. Unlike the mouse, they don’t live in the present. They live and work for their future without thinking of the presejlnnnnt. In the end, George learns to live in the present. An unforeseen event happens and their dream is ruined. By killing Lennie, he kills his American dream- an unlikely and unachievable goal. Like the farmer, he stops dreaming about a goal and begins working on how to get there. Symbols Rabbits - "Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of 'coons..." "Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering." - In George's eyes the farm is what will make them happy and he imagines wondeful things of how their life will be there. Though in Lennie's eyes what he cares about the most for the farm is the fact that he gets to tend for the rabbits. He sees the rabbits as freedom and happiness on its own. - Comparable to Lennie we see the rabbits as sweet and innocent though we know throughout the story that all the weak will eventually die. Just like the mouse, Lennie is a victim to the same fate. - It takes a turn from innocence to strange when Lennie imagines a "gigantic rabbit." The rabbit symbolizes Lennie's past because it speaks to him about abandonment. He continuously fears the thought of people leaving him and lives in a place where he cannot be accepted. Salinas River - The Salinas River is mentioned many times in the novel, it is the place where Lennie hids after incidents happen. - After the killing of Curley's wife he hids there wanting to be found by George. This place for Lennie symbolizes a safe enviroment where he cannot harm anyone and the only place George can find him. - Even when George kills Lennie he brings him there knowing that he can peacfully pass without the torment from Curley. Candy's Dog ''' - Candy has an old dog which represents himself in the story. Candy is old himself, he feels like his dog whom out lived his purpose. Candy's Dog is put out of his misery by Calson which in the time of the Depression proves that only the strong survive. The dog dying foreshadows the death of Lennie, like the dog they are both innocent and impotent. '''Lennie's puppy - Lennie's puppy symbolizes the serendipity of the weak in spite of the strong. Lennie is dependant of George like Lennie's puppy is dependant on him. Dream Farm - It is a symbol of the American dream. George, Lennie, Candy and Crooks all indulge in the dream of living off the fatta of the lan'. George descibes the farm to be abundant and free. - The farm is a symbol of paradise and the American dream, but in the end for them, those two symbols represent the same thing. Setting The story Of Mice and Men ''is set in the 1930's during the Great Depression. It starts at a stream by the Salinas River, where the main characters, George and Lennie, are introduced. The setting moves to a ranch, where the major part of the stroy is set. The ranch includes a ranch house, a bunkhouse where the ranch workers live, a barn, anda harness-room off the barn. It appears isolated and lonely throughout the story. The Great Depression Stock Market Crash: The stock market crash caused customers to stop buying products and forced buisnesses to close down. Workers became unemploted because the employers had no money to pay them. The Dust Bowl: The dust bowl is caused by droughts and dust storms combined. These dust storms would affect farmlands and agriculture. They destroyed crops leaving farmers with nothing to sell. Riding the Rails: People who were unemplyed travelled hoping to find other jobs. Famers who lost their homes or jobs went to West California because they heard rumors for agricultural jobs. Roosevelt and the New Deal: By the end of the Great Depression Roosevelt had come up with ways to help people get through the struggle to overcome the depression. Roosevelt had thought of programs that are aimed to help people survive and get through successfully. For farmers dealing with their agriculture, he had a program aime for them called Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). ABOUT JOHN STEINBECK John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. He grew up in a fertile agricultural valley and favoured the Californa Salinas Valley. He writes novels about economic problems and rural behaviour. He served as war correspondent for the New York Tribune for World War II. He later on died on December 20, 1968. Characters Curley: Curley is the boss’s son. He is “a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair.” The swamper describes him as a “lightweight, and he’s handy” as he’s “done quite a bit in the ring.” Throughout the story, Curley seems to have tension towards Lennie in an aggressive way. He “hates big guys” and avoids intimidation. “He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy.”(page 26) To George, “Curley sounds like a son-of-a-bitch” and a “bastard”. Curley is introduced in the story as the newly wed.” Seems like Curley is cockier’n ever since he got married.” (page 27) He is extremely possessive over his flirtatious wife. He wears “a work glove on his left hand” and the swamper explains that Curley is “keepin’ that hand soft for his wife.” Curley’s possessiveness over his tarty wife fits in with the setting because at this time, men were often occupied with work and women would be the biggest distraction. '''Curley’s wife:' Curley’s wife is the only woman character of the story(aside from Aunt Clara who only appears as a vision). Throughout the story, the name of Curley’s wife remains unrevealed. She had a voice with a “nasal, brittle quality” and is seen as “tart” with a “purty” image. “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.”(page 31) At this time, women are troublemakers who mess around with men and often drive them angry. Curley’s wife is treated with contempt in the story. Her character in Of Mice and Men describes women who are considered as prostitutes or dead material figures. She is seen as “useless” until she opens up about her dream as an actress. “What kinda harm am i doin’ to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how i gotta live. I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this. I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” She said darkly, “Maybe I will yet.” And then her words tumbled out in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away. “I lived right in Salina,” she said. “Come there when i was a kid. Well, a show come through, an’ I met one of the actors. He says i could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’ let me. She says because i was on’y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.” (page 88) Aunt Clara: Aunt Clara is Lennie’s aunt who is only mentioned throughout the story and appears as a vision to Lennie. She is introduced as a kind and patient woman who took Lennie when he was a baby and raised him. She would give him plenty of mice to pet. George explains how he and Lennie meets because he “knowed Lennie’s Aunt Clara” “When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while.” (page 40) The only other time Aunt Clara appears in the story again is at the end, as a vision chastising Lennie for causing trouble for George. “There came a little fat old woman. She wore thick bull’s-eye glasses and she wore a huge gingham apron with pockeys, and she was starched and clean.” (page 100-101) She appears in Lennie’s image as his conscience. No one else knows Lennie as much as Aunt Clara does. The Boss: The Boss is in charge of the ranch. He is never named in the story and only appears once, but what we do know is that The Boss is a man because he is Curley's father. The boss can fairly get mad sometimes, but "he's a pretty nice fella." (p. 20) Crooks: Crooks get his name from his crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss constantly gets mad at Crooks, "but the stable buck dont give a damn about that." (p. 20) Crooks is the only black person in the story and is occasionally called a "nigger". Due to the color of his skin, he is isolated from the other men. The night Lennie visits him, Crooks admits to being lonely. At first he strays from admitting and tries to prove a point, but Crooks ends up inviting Lennie to have a chat with him. For being a black man, Crooks is not allowed to enter the white men's bunkhouse or be able to go out with them. His bitterness begins to peek in, and displays unhappiness. His charatcter stimulates isolation and loneliness and because of this, he desires to have a purpose in life and not be lonesome anymore. Slim: skilled mule driver and well known in the ranch he is also a jerkline skinner “ he was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bullwhip without touching the mule. There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke.” People often go to often for an advice “ his authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. “ -the only character who seems to be peace and stable -comforts George at the end Lennie: “ huge man, shapeless of face with large pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders “ he is joyful when he touches soft little things whether it is a cotton dress, silky fabric or soft puppy “ ju’s wanted to feel that girl’s dress.. jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse “ He has an obsession petting mouse even though it is dead -childlike migrant worker -depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion for guidance and protection " Themes Dignity and Pride Of Mice and Men frequently uses the themes dignity and pride. The book shows that everyone has the "American dream" in their minds and that it is a very hard thing to achieve. John Steinbeck also does a great job of displaying each persons lack of dignity and pride and how it effects their behaviour. All of The Characters (Except Slim) -Feel the need to have their own land and be able to be proud of their hard work (see their crops and sell them if they want) -All want a sense of dignity (Crook wants equality, Lennie wants to be smart, George wants a place to call his own, Curly wants an "obedient" wife, Candy wants to fit in, and Curly's wife wants to be admired.) George -George feels that it is his duty to take care of Lennie -He is proud of the fact that he doesn't leave Lennie and has always been there for him Curly - Feels a need to be a man of dignity by fighting everyone - He lacks the pride to deal with his wife hitting on all the guys at the ranch - Takes his aggression outwards instead of directing it at the real problem (needs to talk to his wife) Lennie - Proud of George. Looks up to him and thinks the world of him - Isn't proud of how he hurts animals by accident Crooks - Wants to be equal - Has low pride because of the way he is treated, and talked to Curly's Wife - Flirts with many people so she feels a sense of dignity - Is proud of her looks and ways with men Candy - Wants dignity -Feels the need to fit in and be a part of George and Lennie's plan Slim -The only character that lives in the moment -Satisfied with what he has Loneliness and Isolation Throughout the story, the theme of loneliness and isolation are displayed through the characters. · Curly’s wife: o Lonely because no one talks to her “I get lonely” “You can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curly. Else he gets mad. o Perceived as a slut and flirt so the men avoid her and treat her like she is not worth anything “Well, I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house all time?” · Crooks: o Only negro on the farm o Isolated from the rest of the workers, he can’t play cards with them or go to the whore house with them because he is black “Why ain’t you wanted?” “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me.” o Has a separate cabin from the rest, and basically lives on his own “You have a nice cozy little pace in here” he said to Crooks. “Must be nice to have a room all to yourself this way.” “Sure” said Crooks. “And a manure pile under the window. Sure, it’s swell.” o Is embittered by the isolation he faces on the farm, making him hard to approach at first until Lennie gets around to him “Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much.” · Candy: o Left out as well because he is old o Is only 1 handed after an accident on the farm, and worries that he would be kicked out of the farm soon o Stays on the ranch when the others go to the whore house “All the boys gone into town, huh?” “All but old Candy. He just sets in the bunkhouse sharpening his pencil and sharpening his figuring.” o Nobody listens to what he says, and is easily pushed around like when Carlson convinced him to kill his dog who was his lifelong companion “Nobody’d listen to you an’ you know it. Nobody’d listen to you.” · Lennie: o George doesn’t let him talk to the other people, isolating himself from the rest o While everyone else stay in the bunkhouse to talk and play games, he is out in the barn with the puppy o Even when the other men go out, he stays at the ranch o His confusion, and his dependency on others especially George, causes him to stand out and eventually killed by George “You jus’ say that,” she said sharply. “You’re always sayin’ that, an’ you know sonofabitching well you ain’t never gonna do it. You’ll jus’ stick around an’ stew the b’Jesus outta George all the time.” 'Dreams and Hopes ' Crooks Crooks desires to be one of the men, and not let the colour of his skin separate him from the rest of the company (Seen on pg 73).Crooks loneliness is seen on page 73 when he is explaining to Lennie how lonely he is sometimes with no one else in his bunkhouse. Crooks sees the idea of George and Lennie owning their own land as a waste of time because that is the goal of almost every rancher which ends up failing (page 74). Candy Candy dreams of gaining independence by owning his own ranch, rather than harvesting other people’s farms(pg 59). After hurting himself on the ranch Candy only has one arm and this aggravates him because he lost his arm doing work on someone else’s ranch and not for his own. George George hopes to own a ranch with Lennie and on the way keep Lennie from getting into trouble. He also desires to make a name for himself. Throughout the book we see how protective George is towards Lennie and it is because he doesn’t want to see Lennie get hurt (pg 41). On page 13, George explains how “They got no family. They don’t belong to no place.” this is one of the main things that he is trying to stray away from. His partnership with Lennie and the want to own their own homestead is the way they try and be different from the “others”. Lennie Lennie is obsessed with being able to take care of the rabbits that him and George will have on their farm. Lennie doesn’t talk very often in the book but when he does speak it is either about George or how he might not be able to take care of the rabbits if he does something bad. (pg 69) Curley’s wife Curley’s wife once had the dream of becoming an actress. She uses this failed dream as an excuse to why she is so lonely and unhappy in her marriage with Curley. We see her struggle on page 88 when she is explaining her life story to Lennie. More Info *Plot http://m.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/summary.html *Characters http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/canalysis.html *Theme http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Impossibility-Of-The-American-Dream-1061880.html Category:Browse